Redwood Regional Park, July 17th

On Sunday (17th July) Gareth and I met with Paul and Leo for a
barefoot hike along the French Trail in Redwood Park (one of the
parks in the hills above San Francisco's East Bay). After Paul
and Leo arrived (despite my somewhat ambiguous directions) we
were also joined by Heather from Berkeley. Heather had seen one
of my posters in the Berkeley public library and had called
asking about the group and when the next hike might be. We walked
along the fairly soft dirt of the west ridge rail, enjoying the
views to the east of range after range of wooded hills (watershed
lands). We chatted about barefooting in general and barefoot
hiking in particular. Heather, being a first-time barefoot hiker,
was full of questions.

After, the previous hike (Shell Ridge), the cool, shady
trails were much appreciated. We encountered a few other groups
of hikers. One woman felt bound to ask why we weren't worried
about glass (she was sure she had seen some on the trail
somewhere). I told her that we notice it if it's there, we don't
step on it and we generally pick it up and take it home for
disposal. This seemed to perplex her all the more. Oh well.

One group of hikers came towards us and one of the party
exclaimed 'barefoot hiking ? ... my hat is off to you, my feet
hurt just looking at you ?'. I answered 'My feet hurt just
looking at your boots ... I don't get blisters any more !'. The
party did not break stride ... this was one of those 'fly-by'
conversations. Two other lone, female hikers were inquisitive and
took leaflets. With one, Heather said 'It's really quite easy to
get used to, and very pleasant .... this is my first time!'.

We extended the hike a little since we were having such a
pleasant time, so we did not get back to the cars until 2pm. The
last stretch of ground was getting a bit hot, but it was nothing
compared to Shell Ridge.